Medhmed I
1419 - 1421
Mehmed I took the full reigns of Ottoman Turkey in 1419, at a time of great opportunity. His kingdom had possesions in 2 continents, with well-trained armies, a pleasently large treasury, and a populace thirsting for glory. Mehmed I would provide what he could.
The Italian city state of Tuscany was far away, but had many vassals directly bordering the Sultan's borders. One of the most appealing was the province of Helles, home of the Duchy of Athens, and more than two millenia of history. Mehmed I immediatly ordered his first fleet to travel to the Agean Sea, where it was boarded by the 2nd army from Smyrna. After a brief travel across the Agean Sea, the 2nd army arrived at Macedonia, where together with the 1st army they trained for many days. Seeing as they would soon be sent into battle, the Pashas of the provinces of Smyrna and Macedonia started a recruitment of 5000 men in each province, with which the Sultan agreed.
In early February, an emissary was sent to the Duke Antonio I in Athens officialy declaring war between the two kingdoms. To this, the Greeks hastily called upon the help of their ally, Tuscany, and the first great war of Mehmed's rain began, as 30,000 men and 10,000 sipahi rode South from Thessaloniki. On March 3rd, they finally arrived and met the Greek forces in battle on the outskirts of Athenea. The battle lasted only a day, and resulted in a decisive victory for the Turks. At a loss of less than 500 men, Athens was besieged.
The siege was long and extremely difficult. More than 20,000 men died trying to capture Athens, and back in Smyrna, the defensive regiment there was barely able to withstand an assault by Tuscany. Finally in September however, the siege was complete. The duchy of Athens was annexed by the Ottoman Empire, and Mehmed I went back to trying to rebuild his armies.
The treasury sharply fell, only half of what it was when Mehmed took control of the empire... but there were good news as well. Naval technology had reached the status of his Western Neighbors, and trade level had reached early rennaisance. Mehmed also saw an opportunity to take land from the crumbling Serbian kingdom. Kosovo was quickly besieged by Ottoman forces, while merchants were sent to the 4 corners of the world. The Kosovo siege quickly fell apart though, and Mehmed left the area to be fought over by the Christian kingdoms.
On March 28, 1421, Mehmed I died, giving rise to his son Murad to become Sultan. Mehmed looked at his rule as a general failure, with a rapidly declining economy providing much stress in his later years. Mehmed hoped his son Murad would have better luck than he would. His dying wish to him was that he improve the economy, and continue to expand the Empire.
Murad I - Part One
Murad I - Part Two
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